Oi Malfoy, that's mine!
by Gemsibob
Summary: It started as an immature fight, but soon lead to something more!  I'm rubbish at summaries, so it might just be better to read it to be honest.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is my first attempt at a story, so I hope it isn't too awful.**

**AN - I own nothing but the plot...which is just a bit rubbish!**

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><p>It was just after breakfast, which meant one thing...Potions. But now we had Professor Slughorn rather than Snape, it was a lot more enjoyable, even if we were sharing with the Slytherins.<p>

We were all gathered around one of the workbenches. I was stood off to the side, near the back, and I hadn't noticed anyone stood behind me until, that is, someone pinched me on the bum, surprisingly hard.

I spun around, ready to admonish whoever it was, but to be honest I was so shocked, I ended up just gaping at them, my mouth wide open. Because standing behind me, actually smiling widely at me, and not glaring with contempt, was none other than Draco Malfoy. As one could guess, it took me a few moments to regain my composure.

"What did you want Malfoy? Except to sexually harass me." He didn't say a word. Sighing with frustration I turned back around to face Professor Slughorn. A hand came to rest on my shoulder, squeezing it lightly. I nearly jumped a foot in the air, but before I got a chance to slap his hand away, he leaned down; I could feel his hot breath on my ear.

"You know, for a 'little miss know it all', you smell truly wonderful." He purred at me.

"What? No 'Mudblood' comment attached to that?" I spat back.

"Well, no. I don't want to call you that anymore Granger.

"Oh! Uhm, okay then." I wasn't sure how to take that last comment, so I spun back around as quickly as possible. He moved forward, practically pressing himself flush against me. The hand still on my shoulder began rubbing sensuous circles towards my neck. I froze, what the hell was he playing at? Why did he even want to touch me?

Thankfully, the bell rang at that moment. I grabbed my bag, shoving everything inside hastily, and all but ran towards the door, ignoring Harry and Ron's attempts at attracting my attention. Just as I reached the door, I chanced a glance backwards, only to catch Malfoy's eye. He stared intently at me for a couple of seconds, before chuckling. Was he taking the piss?

"Eughhhh!" Completely frustrated, I stomped up the corridor, thankful for my free period. I reached the girls toilets on the second floor and pushed through the door. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, my face was incredibly red, almost on par with Ron's when he's embarrassed. Why had Malfoy acting like that got me so worked up, and flustered? I knew why though...of course I did. It was because it was the first time that he'd actually looked at me without pure hatred in his eyes. I'd always wanted him to notice me (I mean, what girl hasn't thought it at least once?), and not as the 'Filthy little Mudblood'. Of course, this isn't something I'd admit out loud...to anyone.

Once my face had returned to a relatively normal looking colour, I made my way to my haven, the library. Walking in, I took in the quiet, calm atmosphere and sighed with relief. I made my way slowly up through the aisles towards my favourite table at the back, with one of the few truly comfortable chairs. I moved towards it, only to have my path obstructed by one Draco Malfoy, smiling at me...again. His sudden fondness for smiling was beginning to creep me out.

"Hi." He said simply

"Errr, hi. Can I help you Malfoy?

"No, no, I was just browsing. I was going to start that Defence against the Dark Arts essay Snape set. You're welcome to join me if you'd like!" My eyebrows must have almost shot off the top of my head, because he chuckled again, and turned, walking towards the table...and MY chair! I narrowed my eyes.

"Hey, that's my seat Malfoy!" he stopped, peering at the chair and then looking back up at me.

"Does it have your name on it Granger? Because I for one can't see anything."

"Bu...but, I always sit there." I was beginning to sound like a petulant child (all I needed now was the obligatory foot stomp), and he knew it too. He smirked and resumed his walk towards the table. Before I could truly comprehend what I was doing, I hoisted my bag further onto my shoulder, and made a dash for the chair. Now, I know it was only about twenty feet away, but Malfoy was already a couple of feet in front of me, and I was not giving up my chair.

I ran towards him, managing to nudge him off course a bit, causing me to snort out a laugh. He grabbed at me, managing to snag my robes, but I fought on...so close...to the...chair. Thankfully, I was closer to it than I'd thought, and I tumbled rather unceremoniously into the chair, legs sprawled over the arms. I heard an indignant grunt from somewhere below me. I turned my head a fraction, and a giggle escaped my lips as I looked down upon a rather disgruntled looking Malfoy lying prostrate on the floor below me.

"Told you it was my chair!" I laughed.

"And here I was, thinking you were the mature type Granger." And to my surprise, he actually laughed along with me as he pulled himself up onto his elbows.

We remained like that for a while, our laughter calming into light chuckles before we eventually settled into cheerful sort of silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, sitting here with Malfoy as I always thought it would be, but actually, it was kind of nice,

"You know, Granger, although that was all rather stupid, you're pretty damn cute when you're all riled up like that, acting all petulant and childish."

"Right back at you Malfoy." I said as I righted myself in the chair as gracefully as possible before offering my hand to help him up. He looked at my proffered hand briefly, before grasping it in his and pulling himself up from the dusty floor. His grip remained on my hand a few beats longer than necessary, before sighing as he let go to wipe the dust and fluff from his black trousers.

I couldn't help but stare at his backside (who wouldn't?) as he bent to retrieve his bag, it really was rather nice. A blush spread across my cheeks as he righted himself, apparently noticing the direction in which my eyes had been focused, but he said nothing, just quirking an eyebrow at me instead. I looked away, dying of embarrassment as he took the seat opposite me, rummaging in his bag and depositing his books and stationary on the table.

Eventually I followed suit, and I was soon deep in thought as my quill scratched quickly across the parchment in front of me, trying to ignore the frustrated grunts punctuating the peaceful silence. Soon though, they became too much. I looked up at the tables other occupant, his brow was furrowed in obvious agitation.

"What is it Malfoy, do you need a hand with that?" I asked, pointing my quill towards his half filled parchment.

"Eughh, no, it's just, this chair is so damn uncomfortable." He whined, "It's making my arse go numb." I smiled, now he could see why I'd fought so valiantly for this chair.

"Well...I don't know; transfigure one of your books into a cushion or something. Just stop whining, it's quite off-putting to my concentration." He smirked at me, but took my advice anyway, and was soon sitting comfortably on and overstuffed, green (naturally), silk (what else!) cushion. He sighed again, Merlin, I'd never realised quite how annoying he could actually be. He was almost as bad as Harry and Ron.

"What now?" I snapped, he said nothing. "What?"

"I'm bored."

"Well I'm not forcing you to stay her Malfoy. I was under the impression that you were here of your own volition, you can leave of it too." My eyes returned to my own half finished essay. I didn't really want him to leave. Who knew when I'd ever get the chance to sit (somewhat) amicably with the Slytherin again, without the usual insults and torment being thrown at me? With him seemingly relaxed, albeit irritating at the same time.

"No, I don't want to leave. It's been surprisingly fun hanging out with you Granger, but I'm bored of studying. Would you like to do something else instead, a walk perhaps?"

"But we have Transfiguration in like...twenty minutes." I said, glancing at my watch.

"Oh come on Hermione, where's your sense of fun? Live a little. I bet you've never missed a single class the entire time you've been here." I bit my bottom lip, as I nodded my head in agreement, slightly distracted. If I wasn't mistaken, Malfoy had just called me by my first name.

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><p><strong>Well there you go, hope it wasn't too bad.<strong>

**Now, if you don't want to review that's fine, I'm not gonna make you...but you know, one teeny weeny review might be quite nice...**

**Gembob**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, chapter 2 for you guys. I was attempting a swear word free story...but alas, I have too much of a gutter mouth, so swearing sneaks into this chapter, and will no doubt only get worse as it progresses :-p**

**AN - I own nothing but the plot...which sucks monkey balls, but what can I do?**

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><p>We slipped out into the hallway, which was by now, full of other students bustling to and fro between lessons. We walked apart from each other so as not to attract the attention of too many students. Finally, we made it to the end of the corridor, which had cleared as students filed into classrooms. I pushed Malfoy up against a wall.<p>

"Ooh, feeling a bit randy are we Granger?"

I blushed again. "Uh, no, I was merely going to suggest a Disillusionment charm, we don't want to get caught now do we?" He rolled his eyes, and I jumped as he took my hand.

"It would be useful if we, at least, could see each other, don't you think Granger. Just cast it over the both of us." He squeezed my hand. Merlin, I was going to have a heart attack if he wasn't careful.

I cast the spell non-verbally, and shivered at the weird feeling of someone breaking a raw egg over my head.

"Come on then." I yanked on his hand, pulling him with me as I set off down the corridor again. Unfortunately, as I rounded the corner, I so very nearly walked into, or should I say through Professor Binns. Now, it was never a pleasant experience walking through a ghost, it was so cold, like having your entire body thrown into a pool of ice, and I didn't relish the idea of going through that right now.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Malfoy used his free hand to stifle what I can only presume was a laugh. I wasn't sure why at first, but then I noticed my position. I was currently on my hands and knees, having apparently instinctually thrown myself to the floor to avoid Professor Binns. Of course, I'd also pulled Malfoy down with me, so he was more than likely trying to stifle some stream of insults.

We stood up once he had floated past, and Malfoy, standing behind me, whispered in my ear.

"Stealthy! It would have been a magnificent move, ducking under old Binnsy there, if I hadn't been attached. That fucking hurt!" I felt my embarrassment rise as the telltale heat spread over my cheeks.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't really thinking." He laughed, I quirked an eyebrow, confused by his response.

"Yeah, well, I suppose it was still quite impressive. He didn't seem to detect us." I smiled. Turning away, still holding his hand, I continued up the corridor, and soon we were in the Entrance Hall, right next to the front doors.

Stepping out into the bright April sunshine, I let the Disillusionment charm drop, and we stood silently, side by side, letting the feel of the sun bathe our faces.

I stood next to him, one hand on my hip, the other up shielding my eyes from the almost blinding light. I was admiring the true beauty that was the Hogwarts grounds, illuminated in sunshine. But, I couldn't help myself; I glanced to my left, directly at Malfoy, causing my breath to hitch in my chest, silly Hermione. I was already barely containing rampant thoughts of Malfoy, but looking at him now, his alabaster skin glowing in the UV rays, his blond hair, casting light off in different directions, he looked like an angel...albeit, a rather smug looking angel….damn.

"Granger, if you're going to stare at me, try to not be so obvious about it." He laughed as he casually opened one eye and looked down at me. Shit, he'd caught me. This was beginning to get ridiculous, why did I have to keep blushing? "Aww, don't you look adorable when you blush!" He said, tapping me on the nose with a slender finger. Again with the touching, he really was acting quite strange today. "Come on, this way." Shoving his hands into his trouser pockets, he set off down the slope towards the lake.

Rather grudgingly I followed after him, trailing behind slightly. I can't believe I let him (somehow?) talk me into this, skipping Transfiguration, and then walking out into the open where anyone could see us. It was completely stupid.

"Come on Granger, keep up, we don't have all day." I glared at him in response. He rolled his eyes in despair, and stalked forward, grabbing my wrist as he took off at a jog down the hill. I let out a squeak, but allowed him to pull me along.

We reached the lake, and he dropped my wrist abruptly and walked onto the little pebble beach on the shore of the lake. I plopped myself rather ungracefully down onto the ground, absently fiddling with random blades of grass around me as I watched him stoop to pick up a pebble, before expertly skipping it over the surface of the water.

"Malfoy, what are we doing here?" I said, looking up from my current blade of grass, thinking about how I could be in class, actually learning something useful.

"What, enjoying some one on one time with me, isn't enough for you? Anyway, at least we don't have to spend an entire lesson being bored to death."

"To spend time with you?" I asked incredulously. "Why would I necessarily want to do that anyway, it's not as if we're friends Malfoy, far from it I'd say."

His face turned cold again as he glared at me. Stalking over to where I sat, he crouched down in front of me.

"Oh come off it Malfoy, I know you hate me."

"Don't presume to know what I think Granger, you know nothing about me whatsoever. As you so kindly pointed out, it's not as if we're friends." He stood, towering over me, his usual sneer returning to cover his features. With a quick, final glance at me, he stormed off, back towards the castle.

Taking a couple of seconds to re-gather my thoughts (damn, I think I've just ruined it!), I stood up and ran after him.

"Malfoy, wait please!" He slowed, but did not stop. "Look, I'm sorry alright, I'm just not used to...this!" waving my arms frantically, I gestured between the two of us as he finally turned to look at me.

"And you think I am? I'm trying to be a better person, to change your opinion of me, but you're not making it very easy. Oh, and for the record, I don't hate you, I've never hated you, disliked you yeah, but never hated!"

I wanted to cry, this beautiful boy had just told me he didn't hate me, and it had only taken him five years to admit it. I took in a deep breath, trying to control my butterflies.

"I'm sorry Draco." Was all I could say as I turned and traipsed back to my previous spot on the grass. I lay down, closing my eyes, basking in the warm sunshine, trying to further calm my emotions. After a couple of minutes, I heard him carefully lie down beside me. We lay there in silence for nearly five minutes before he shuffled, poking my arm with his elbow.

"Right, I'm going to teach you how to skip stones. Get up." He was up on his feet again in seconds while I'd barely registered his words, bloody seeker reflexes. This time it was his turn to offer a hand up from the floor. I took his hand and was pulled up effortlessly, he squeezed my fingers gently before letting my hand go.

"Okay, first things first, you need an appropriate stone. Preferably a..."

I cut him off. "Did I ever say that I can't already skip stones?" I asked pointedly, hands on my hips.

"Hmm, alright, show me your skills 'miss I know how to do everything'." I crouched down to search through the vast assortment of stones and pebbles surrounding me. Surely this couldn't be that difficult, could it? I've seen it done often enough, for some reason, men seemed to be able to do this for hours, was it some kind of boost to their masculinity? Probably!

Selecting a small, flattish looking stone, I stood back up. Straightening my skirt (It had ridden up a little more than I liked); I strode quickly (and nervously) towards the edge of the lake. Keeping my wrist and hand as level as possible, I flicked my wrist out towards the water, releasing the stone.

It was quite disappointing really, not to mention completely humiliating to watch as my pebble broke straight through the surface of the water, leaving behind a barely audible 'plop' sound as ripples spread out towards me.

"Yes, well, I can see how amazingly skilled you are at this Granger." He said, laughing hysterically between the smug looks he was sending me.

Finally, after calming down, he approached me and proceeded to show me the correct method. To be honest I don't think that I'd been that far off. But for some reason, I still couldn't master this.

Somewhere in the realm of fifteen failed attempts, I could no longer hold back my annoyance as I all but screamed and started stamping my feet. Sighing, he approached me again from his position on the sidelines.

"For Merlin's sake, come here." He grabbed me by the shoulders (Eeek!). "Right, you need to stand like this." He turned me so that I was facing the lake more, my throwing arm parallel to the water. Handing me another stone, he came to stand behind me. My skin suddenly felt a little over sensitive. Wrapping an arm around me, he took a hold of my wrist, moving my hand to about a twenty degree angle, and placing his other hand on my hip.

"Ready?" he breathed against my hair (since when had I ingested all these butterflies?). "One, two, and three..." He flicked my hand towards the water, and I released the stone.

I watched in awe as the small stone skipped smoothly, not once, not twice, but three times before its momentum ran out and it slipped silently beneath the water.

"Merlin's fucking balls! I did it. Draco, did you see...three times." I shook him by the shoulders, none to gently.

"Not to burst your bubble or anything, but that was still technically me. But if it makes you feel any better, we can pretend that it was all you, if you'd prefer?" I stopped mid celebration, mulling over his words.

"Aww, I didn't know you cared! But yes, I think I'll pretend it was all me, if you don't mind. Don't want to try again and have an epic fail." I laughed. "You know what Draco? It's actually been kind of...well, fun hanging out with you." I said, taking a seat on a nearby boulder.

"You're not too bad to 'hang out' with either...Hermione." He turned, winking at me as my face turned shocked at the second use of my first name. His face brightened when a breathtaking smile spread across it. I was completely transfixed.

Draco coughed, breaking my reverie. Looking me in the eye, he grabbed my hand again, helping me stand. Then he sighed.

"What's up?"

"It's lunchtime; didn't you just hear the bell? We should head back up before people get more suspicious than they already will be, what with both of us being absent from the same class. Come on." He released my hand, and turned, walking back up the slope towards the castle. I huffed resignedly and traipsed along behind him again. Thinking how, although we'd had a minor argument, it had been better that any actual lesson ever could have been.

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><p><strong>Well there it is, hope it wasn't too rubbish, and I apologise if they seem OOC at all...but that's apparently just the way they come across in my head<strong> :-/

**Gemsibob**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much to those who have reviewed/favourited/alerted it is very much appreciated.**

**AN - I own nothing but the plot :-(**

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><p>We made it back up to the castle just as the Entrance Hall was filling with students eager to fill their protesting stomachs. I had lost Malfoy in the bustling crowds as we entered, but caught his eye just as he was going through the doors. He smiled and winked at me again before he disappeared completely. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I walked through the doors.<p>

Spotting Harry and Ron in our normal spot, I made my way over, sitting myself next to Harry and opposite Ron...with a good view of the Slytherin table. Smiling weakly at them, I noticed the looks of concern aimed at me by both boys.

"Are you alright Hermione? What happened after Potions, I've never seen you bolt from a room so quickly?" Asked Harry.

"Yeah, and then you weren't in Transfiguration either." Added Ron. "Actually, neither was Malfoy." He narrowed his eyes as he cast a glance over his shoulder at the blond haired beauty (I need to stop thinking these things). I swallowed the lump in my throat. "The git didn't do anything to you, did he Hermione? 'Cos if he did, I'll bloody kill him!"

"No Ron, Malfoy didn't 'do' anything to me, and even if he had, I am more than capable of handling the situation myself. Don't you think Ronald?"

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts Ron, I'm fine. I just had an awful headache, so after Potions I went to Madam Pomfrey for some pain relieving potion, and then went to lie down in my dorm. The next thing I know, it's lunchtime."

"Are you sure? We were really worried Hermione, it's not like you to skip classes."

"Yes Harry, I'm sure. Now come on, at this rate we won't have eaten anything before our next lesson, and I don't know about you," I stared pointedly at Ron. "But I'm bloody starving."

I poured myself a bowl of tomato soup and grabbed a bread roll. As I sat eating my food, I couldn't help but cast a quick glance at Malfoy over the top of my spoon. His eyes were already on me, entirely on me. He looked a little wary for a moment, as if he shouldn't be looking at me, but then flashed me a quick and yet again, breathtaking smile, causing me to practically inhale my soup. I dropped my gaze as I coughed and spluttered, even from this far away, I could hear him laughing at me.

Harry gave me a thump on the back.

"Err, thanks Harry. It was a bit hotter than I had expected." I took a few gulps of pumpkin juice to sooth my now raw throat, and to reiterate my point about the hot soup. After that incident, I refused to look up from the table for the rest of lunch. But I could feel that he was still watching me.

"...you got next?" Harry prodded me.

"Huh? Oh, err, Arithmancy. What about you?"

"Free period, we're going to practice Quidditch for a bit, I think."

"Right, well have fun. I'm going to go now; I need to see Professor McGonagall to get my homework, and to apologise for missing her lesson earlier. I'll see you in Defence against the Dark Arts later, yeah?"

"Yeah, cool. See you later Hermione." Grabbing my bag, I removed myself from the bench and all but ran from the Great Hall, not daring to look back in case Malfoy was looking at me again.

Arithmancy was for once, not holding my attention. My mind couldn't focus clearly on anything except Malfoy. Okay, so I may have previously had a slight crush on him (what girl hadn't at some point), but it had seriously gone up a few notches today, it was almost unbearable, and to make matter worse, the object of my temporarily gone mad affections was currently sitting in the row in front of me.

His blond hair was falling in front of his eyes as he bent over his work. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to the elbows revealing smooth, toned forearms, I watched as they tensed when he wrote. Seriously, I didn't know what had gotten into me; I should not have been thinking these things.

Suddenly, an origami crane landed on the table in front of me. I looked up quizzically, and yet again found Malfoy's eyes on me. He was peering at me over his shoulder, nodding his head towards the crane, he mouthed 'open it' at me before turning back around.

Pulling the crane towards me, I hastily opened it as quietly as possible under my desk. At first it seemed to be blank, but then elegant writing appeared, flowing smoothly across the small piece of parchment.

"_My clothing is either dishevelled, which I know it's not, or you're finding me extremely sexy and captivating today Miss Granger. That's the second time I've caught you out now. Oh, and by the way, if you tap the parchment with your quill, the ink will disappear and you will be able to write a response, if you wish, as I also have a piece here on my desk_."

I coughed a little in surprise, am I always this obvious, I hope not...at least I'm not normally caught. I tapped the parchment.

"_I think you'll find that I was not staring at you Malfoy. I was merely thinking, and happened to be looking in your direction."_

I watched him read my response and he just winked over his shoulder at me.

"_It'll be our little secret, honest! Because that was quite the lie you told me there. Go on, admit it, you find me sexy? In return I'll tell you a secret about me, something no one else knows."_

Now, I was intrigued.

"_Fine, I would certainly say that you are attractive...but sexy? I don't know if I'd go that far."_

I teased. I watched his shoulders shake with silent laughter for a moment, before more words appeared.

"_Oh come on Hermione, you can do better than that. You aren't getting any secrets out of me until you admit it."_

"_Fine, fine. Yes you are sexy, unbelievably sexy. No one else in the whole of Hogwarts could possibly compare to you. Alright, is that better?"_

"_Much better thank you. Right, time for a secret I suppose. Hmmm, okay then, I also find you incredibly sexy...and beautiful, intelligent (obviously) and downright adorable when you're riled up."_

My mouth opened in shock. Was he being serious, surely not?

"_Oh, and for the record Granger, I am being deadly serious."_

Fucking hell, my mind had now gone completely blank. Thankfully I was saved for the second time today by the bell ringing.

I rushed out and quickly ran to Defence against the Dark Arts, but unfortunately Malfoy caught up (why'd he have to have such long legs).

"Why are you always in such a rush to get away from me Granger?" Sighing, I turned to look at him.

"Why are you doing this Malfoy?" I pleaded. "What do you want from me?"

"Granger, I've just admitted something to you, and you don't know what I want. I thought you were meant to be intelligent!"

I was stunned. What? Did he just pretty much admit that he wanted a relationship with me? We weren't even properly friends yet. Shit, I felt faint. I had to stop and steady myself against a wall. Breathing deeply, I finally managed to find my voice.

"You...you want to be friends?"

"Well, yes...to begin with I guess. I would have thought that most of today would have given that away."

"Eughh, seriously Malfoy, we can't do this now. I've already missed one lesson today because of you, and I'm not going to be late to another one." I left him behind momentarily, but as per usual, he caught up. I groaned...loudly, he only smirked at me.

We reached DADA with a couple of minutes to spare, and Malfoy very chivalrously held the door for me...of course, he wasn't satisfied with that and just had to make our entrance more elaborate, and so he bowed down low, sweeping an arm out before me to welcome me into the room. I hesitated briefly, before taking a calming breath and shooting him a stern glare as I rushed past him.

Approaching my usual desk, I sat myself down next to Ron.

"What the fucking hell was that all about?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me in obvious confusion.

"No idea!" was all I could say, admittedly a bit too harshly, oh well.

"Merlin Hermione, what's up with you today?" Harry mumbled from the other side of Ron.

"Nothing Harry, for your information I am perfectly fine. Alright?" Both boys gave each other one of those 'Mm hmm, whatever you say love' looks, I exhaled loudly through my nose. Bollocksy damn men!

Thankfully, Malfoy was sat further back in the room, so at least I could pretend he wasn't there, and actually try and learn something at least once today.

Although silent for the first ten minutes of the lesson, Harry and Ron soon resumed their interrogation, trying (and failing, I might add) with numerous questions, to get answers about my unusually flustered and short tempered state, which seemed to have somewhat engulfed me since this morning.

But apart from the fact that Dra...Malfoy had admitted something so...well human (who knew?) and potentially damning for him, I still couldn't help but feel, although really rather hopeful and excited, quite apprehensive about the whole thing. What if this was just some kind of malicious scheme?

The lesson passed quickly as I sat, pondering over what had occurred over the course of the day, my face ached from the now semi-permanent scowl etched onto my face.

Soon, lessons were over for the day, and I decided to get a little head start on my homework, so telling Harry and Ron for the hundredth time that I seriously was fine, and that I would see them later, I made my way back to the library.

I smiled at Madam Pince as she studied me carefully, obviously deciding that I could be trusted with her precious books. I approached _my_ table and had to slam a hand over my mouth to prevent the scream rising in my throat from actually escaping.

"Bloody hell Malfoy. Seriously, are you stalking me, or purposefully trying to irritate me, and...and...and that's my chair, yet again!"

"One, we've been over this already, it's not specifically _your_ chair Granger. Two, I let you have it last time and three, I'm not purposefully trying to do anything to you. Just being my normal charming self, and wanting to spend some time with you, get to know you." He paused, looking up at me. He rolled his eyes and sighed, "But, I guess you've had enough of me today then? It's fine, I'll leave, you stay."

I watched as he stood up. Rubbing the bridge of my nose between thumb and index finger, I looked up and gave him a weak smile. "No, no, it's okay Malfoy, you can stay, and, I'll even let you have the chair."

He sat back down, returning to his essay, I followed suit, sitting down opposite him. As annoyed as I had been earlier, sitting in his presence, listening to his slow breathing, it actually calmed me down.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I was being serious earlier, I would like to try and be friends with you. I like to think I have changed, you know?"

"I know Draco, I know." I sighed, "Today was a good start."

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><p><strong>How was it? Hope you enjoyed it guys.<strong>

**Should have chapter 4 ready in the next couple of days...so you won't have to wait too long. :-)**

**Gemsibob**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, two chapters in one day, I'm on a frickin' roll.**

**I'd just like to thank claire96, Benehime1124 and dulcemaria413 for their wonderful reviews.**

**As always, enjoy.**

**AN - everything but this particular plot belongs to JK Rowling**

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><p>It was a couple of days later before I properly encountered Malfoy again. I was in the library (I know, how surprising), studying, when I heard the chair across from me being pulled out.<p>

"Hello Granger and how are you this evening?"

"Hi Malfoy, I'm...uhh, fine I guess, you?

"Yep, I'm good thanks. What're you doing?"

"Getting a head start on NEWTs revision, you can never be too prepared." He rolled his eyes at this, typical male.

"Where are Pothead and the Weasel, you never seem to be around them much these days? Admit it, you've just been secretly hoping that I'd come by and talk to you..." I looked up at him, slightly amused, and felt my mouth move into a smile when I saw his grin.

"Whatever you want to believe Malfoy." And then I winked at him. Admittedly he did look momentarily taken aback with shock, but soon his smirk returned.

"I knew it! Anyway, I didn't see you at dinner earlier. You're not avoiding your darling boyfriends are you?"

"What? They most certainly are not my 'boyfriends', eww, that's fucking disgusting!"

"Language Granger, I didn't know you were capable of such filth." He smirked again, "Well, as I assume you haven't had any dinner, I think a reconnaissance mission is in order. Up you get." He sprung lithely from his chair, looking down at me expectantly.

"Seriously? I'm not even hungry, and I'm trying to work here."

"It'll be fun, I promise. I haven't been around to annoy you for a few days, let me have some fun and do it now...please?"

"What's this..." I asked in mock astonishment, "a Malfoy practically begging? Merlin's balls, you must be really bored...or lonely."

"Pffft, we Malfoy's never beg, we merely goad politely...and incessantly." I laughed loudly, I'd never realised that under that usually hard demeanour, he truly was quite funny, and witty.

"Fine," I conceded, "you've twisted my arm."

"But I didn't even touch you." He grumped indignantly.

"Oh sssh, it's alright, just a muggle expression." I shoved my books and quill into my bag. "Lead the way."

"But of course, right this way M'am." He held an arm out to his side, indicating for me to go first. I strolled out of the library, Malfoy in tow.

The hallways were quiet. Checking my watch, I realised how late it was getting, it was eight thirty already. "Curfews up in half an hour Malfoy, we better hurry."

"Patience, we're nearly there now anyway." We were in the Entrance Hall, and Malfoy quickly found the staircase down to the Kitchens. We walked down the stairs side by side, revealing at the bottom, a short corridor. I knew exactly how to get in from here. Striding past him confidently I quickly located the portrait of a bowl of fruit. I admired it for a moment, before reaching up and lightly tickling the pear, it giggled, and the portrait swung forward.

I turned around, ready to show my smug face, but I didn't realise quite how close Draco was standing behind me. I nearly toppled backwards; luckily he caught a hold of me, and then stood, resting his forearms on my shoulders.

"Well, well, well, Miss Hermione Granger – rule breaker. I presume you've visited the Kitchens before then?" I could feel his breath on my face, my heart was racing, and he really was incredibly close. I could smell his aftershave (Mmm, light, but musky), I could have almost been in heaven.

"Hello? Granger, you still in there?" He tapped my head with an index finger.

"Uhh, what?" I started, "well, yes, I err, may have been here once or twice. Honestly, who hasn't been here though?"

"You'd be surprised. Not everyone's as rebellious as you seem to be." He chuckled softly as his fingers gently swept a stray hair from in front of my eyes to behind my ear. Oh lord, this was getting quite uhm...intimate wasn't it? His molten silver eyes were looking intently at my face, flitting back and forth as if taking in every single detail, to be fair; my eyes were doing exactly the same, taking in his molten eyes, strong jawline….

Rather abruptly Draco removed his arms from my shoulders and stepped back, clearing his throat.

"Hmm, well, err…come on then, we came to get you some dinner, I believe." With that said he strode past me and disappeared behind the portrait.

"Mr Draco Sir, how is you? We hasn't seen you in a while. Is there anything we's can get you Sir? I knew that voice; I followed quickly into the Kitchens, and instantly recognised Dobby.

"Hi Dobby." I greeted the little House Elf warmly.

"...and Miss Hermione too. Please, sit, we will gets your some food." He bustled off, "Winky, can you gets the Master and Miss some Butterbeer?"

I looked at Draco and smiled excitedly, it wasn't very often I got to actually have Butterbeer, it was usually reserved for Hogsmeade trips, and for some reason, I'd really been craving one.

We moved over to a table set off to the side, away from the huge tables mirroring the Great Hall above. As we sat down, Winky approached, levitating a few bottles of the foamy beverage and placed them on the table before us, giving a curt bow as she scurried off.

"Mmm, I've wanted one of these for days." I murmured as I took a long draw from my bottle and relaxed back into my chair.

"Ha, me too actually, I haven't snuck down here in a while to get one." Just then Dobby approached, levitating all kinds of wonderful food; Pumpkin Pasties, Chicken Pie, Stew, Jacket Potatoes and my favourite, Minted Peas. It was clearly too much for the two of us, but still, I was grateful and Dobby just looked so happy to be serving us (maybe everyone was right about me needing to give up on S.P.E.W).

"Thanks Dobby, it all looks delicious." I smiled down at the little Elf.

"Ladies first, Granger."

"How gentlemanly of you Malfoy." Smirking, I looked up at him. A shadow seemed to pass over his face for a moment, confusing me.

"I'll have you know, I was raised to be the perfect gentleman, fancy etiquette and all," pausing, he looked at me carefully, studying my reactions, "even if I haven't always acted as such." His head fell, refusing to shift his eyes back up to my face.

"Malfoy?" Silence. I reached over and tentatively touched the back of his pale hand with my fingers. "Draco, it's not like you to act so morosely. You may have been a bit of a bastard before (understatement!)...but unless you're somehow trying to trick me here," his head shot up, mouth opening ready to refute, but I held up a finger in response, "then I can see that you truly are making an effort to change all that, be a better person. Do you honestly think that I could be sitting here, having fun with you if I thought any different?" Smiling, I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

In a surprising move, he pulled my hand up and gently kissed the back of it. Feeling that damn heat spreading like wildfire over my cheeks again, I quickly dropped my eyes to my still empty plate. Chuckling quietly he put my hand back down onto the table, muttering a small "Thanks.".

We sat in comfortable silence for a while, eating quietly. I'd chosen some chicken pie and a jacket potato...with plenty of peas. I was allowing my mind to drift into dangerous territory with all too tempting thoughts of Draco again. His hair, his mesmerising eyes, those lips...those soft, luscious lips...my reverie was broken (Thank Merlin.) by a single pea, hitting the crown of my head. I jerked my head back up, and noticed that the smirk had returned to Draco's face, but this time it was more playful. My eyes caught movement, between his fingers was yet another pea.

He threw it, smiling proudly as it bounced off the bridge of my nose. He broke into laughter as his next pea projectile narrowly missed my eye, followed by more which rather unfortunately nested themselves in my hair. "Oooh, it's on Malfoy, this is officially a pea war!" I laughed, almost maliciously as I grabbed the bowl of peas out from under his nose, and threw the entirety of its contents at him.

His face was a picture, only causing me to laugh harder. It was a mixture of shock, incredulity, humour and disgust. Tears of laughter were streaming down my face, obscuring my vision, and I was forced to hold my sides as I felt a stitch developing. Thanks to said tears, I didn't notice as he snuck up behind me, holding the flaky pastry crust from the remaining chicken pie. He proceeded to crumble it diligently over my head. I was not impressed!

I shoved him in slight annoyance, but he only shoved back (a lot lighter than I had shoved him thankfully). This continued back and forth for a while before I tried a new technique...tickling. I aimed first at his stomach, then his sides, but I got no further than that, because my attempts were thwarted, as a pair of strong hands grabbed my wrists and pulled me into his chest. I looked up, bemused. His silver eyes seemed to dance into life, flitting over my face before coming to rest on my brown eyes.

Still holding onto my wrists, he pulled my hands, bringing them around to his back, locking us in a rather one sided embrace. He shifted my hands within his own so that now only one of his hands held both of my own. Bringing his now freed hand up to my face, he gently wiped the still damp tear tracks left from my earlier laughing fit with his thumb.

Keeping his gaze locked firmly on mine, he tenderly traced a path down my cheek and along my jaw line, stopping as he gently held my head. He released my hands completely and brought his other hand round to cup my cheek. My heart was physically (I swear.) trying to break through my ribcage, and I couldn't help but unconsciously moisten my lips in anticipation. I watched as he mirrored my actions, bringing his face slowly closer to mine. Finally, when it felt like my ribcage was about to cave, and allow my heart to break free as it jumped excitedly around, his lips moved over mine.

We both inhaled sharply through our noses as the new sensations took over, and my hands quickly began to explore his back and neck, as his hands delved into my thick curls. His lips were gentle, yet urgent at the same time as he moved them against mine. They really were as soft and luscious as they looked.

He nibbled at my bottom lip softly before moving a trail of delicate butterfly kisses along my jaw line and down my neck. A moan of pleasure escaped my mouth...my mind had gone blank of all thoughts, except how this truly was the best kiss I'd ever had. The rumours are clearly true.

Breaking the kiss sometime later (who knows how long we'd been at it), he rested his forehead against mine as we regained our breath. Sighing contentedly he stroked patterns on the overheated skin of my face.

Moving back, he smiled at my lust filled look and quickly glanced at his watch. His face fell. "It's gone ten, we better be heading back, curfew started over an hour ago." I pouted, why did we have to stop so soon, we were already late, surely another hour...or three, wasn't going to matter much. "Allow me to escort you back to your dormitory Hermione?" I took his proffered hand and noticed that his thumb began absently tracing patterns on my skin again. I smiled at the contact, it felt good, right.

I looked around as I started pulling peas from my hair, expecting to see some devastation from our earlier food fight, but noticed that the House Elves must have rather discreetly cleared the mess that we'd created, causing me to giggle. Draco looked down at me, quirking an eyebrow. "Oops, I think we probably let them see more than they've ever wanted to after that display. Poor Dobby."

"Nah, I bet he loved it, maybe he has unknown voyeuristic tendencies." He laughed along with me. "Maybe we should give him a proper show?" He turned me to face him again, as he grabbed my arse, pulling me flush against him again.

I winked as I swatted his hand away. "Maybe another time." With that said, I retook his hand, dragging him out through the portrait hole into the moonlit corridors.

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><p><strong>I apologise for my piss poor attempt at writing dialogue from a House Elf...but they're really hard to do!<strong>

**Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Gemsibob**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the reviews guys, they make me happy :-D**

**So, they've finally kissed...hopefully there'll be more**

**AN - I still own nothing but the plot, not a lot I can do about that though!**

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><p>I walked as quickly as possible through the common room; I didn't particularly relish the idea of bumping into Harry or Ron right now. I was too deliriously happy. Thankfully they were nowhere in sight. Actually, the common room was pretty much empty, save a couple of fifth year boys, obviously attempting furiously to complete some essay or assignment. I will never understand how (most) boys can leave all of their work until the very last minute. Why don't they just do it the day it's received, then it's out the way...job done.<p>

Bounding up the stairs quickly, I entered my dormitory as quietly as possible. The lights were all out, and the only noise was the quiet, steady breathing of the other girls. With the door still ajar I glanced at my watch and stifled a shocked gasp as I realised it was much later than I had anticipated, it was somehow twenty past eleven.

I laughed quietly to myself as I allowed my eyes to adjust to the darkness, no point waking the girls with a Lumos spell. Once I had reached my bed, I dressed silently and climbed into bed, closing the curtains tightly around me. Snuggling down under my duvet, I tried to recall how it had taken me and Draco almost an hour to get from the kitchens to the Gryffindor common room. I had to stifle yet another giggle; I hadn't had that much fun in ages.

_We had held hands all the way, but we were pretending to be secret agents trekking stealthily through the corridors under cover of darkness. Occasionally we would have to dive into alcoves, or empty classrooms to avoid detection. I know it all sounds pretty stupid, especially for two teenagers, but we needed to fill in time until 'the coast was clear' somehow. _I felt my lips, they seemed a little swollen, and I could feel the beginnings of stubble rash from Draco developing around my mouth. But, to be honest, I couldn't care less after the rather thorough explorations of each other's mouths...over and over again.

_Sighing blissfully, I remembered Draco, pulling me against him in an alcove just past the Entrance Hall. He spun us around so I was pressed firmly between him and the wall. It was surprisingly comfortable. I could feel heat radiating off of his body as his steel grey eyes looked at me intently and his hands caressed my wrists._

_"Sssh, I thought I heard Peeves." He whispered in my ear._

_"But I..." his finger came up, covering my lips, stroking along them sensually. Honestly, I hadn't heard anything...and I was beginning to suspect that he hadn't either._

_"We better stay here, you know, just to be on the safe side."_

_"Hmm, I agree. But whatever shall we do to pass the time?" I pretended to be deep in thought, tapping my chin with my index finger. He lowered his head towards me, moving forward at an infuriatingly slow pace, teasing me by stopping and smiling at me every time I responded and moved closer as well. I chuckled quietly when I surprised him, sliding my hand up his chest, over his shoulder and around his neck, literally yanking him forwards. I kissed him slowly, our lips moving effortlessly as our tongues fought and explored the hot, damp confines of the others mouth, it was a sweet and tender kiss. His hand wound smoothly around my back, finding the edge of my shirt, moving it up until his hand came in contact with my hot skin, he pulled me tighter against his toned body..._

I shook my head sharply, trying to break out of my daydream, I was never going to get any sleep if I kept going over tonight's events, and the delicious feel, and taste of him...mmm...Seriously, I had to control myself. We had already agreed to rendezvous during our free period after lunch, happy with that last thought, I finally fell asleep.

I woke up in a much better mood than previous days, it made a nice change. I saw the other girls eyeing me suspiciously as we dressed for the day, but the smile never left my face.

With a last sweep of my mascara brush, I decided it was time for breakfast, so I made my way down the stairs, bumping into Harry and Ron at the bottom. "Morning guys, ready for breakfast?" I said cheerily as I looped an arm through one of each of theirs.

"Erm, yeah, I guess." Replied Harry, quirking an eyebrow at me in confusion. "Actually, we were kinda hoping you could give us a hand on that DADA essay due tomorrow."

"How much have you done already?" I questioned, looking at each of them in turn.

"Most of it Hermione, honestly, we just couldn't figure out how to finish them."

"Yeah, and you know how crap my spelling is." Interjected Ron, "Please Hermione?" he pleaded, Harry nodding encouragingly behind him.

"Fine, I'll have a quick look over them later, but that's it, you've got to finish them by yourselves." Laughing at their puppy dog expressions, I pulled them towards the portrait hole.

We entered the Great Hall in hysterics, having been recalling Fred and Georges' numerous 'tests' on fellow students of their Skiving Snack Boxes, after witnessing a scowling Snape dragging a third year to the hospital wing. The boy was smiling triumphantly to his friends as copious amounts of viscous, shiny blood dripped from his nose, splattering on the floor.

I looked around, my eyes automatically searching for the tell tale white blond hair as we entered the hall, my smile faltering when I failed to find it. The boys walked ahead of me as I now trailed listlessly behind them. I didn't notice Draco sneak up behind me and squeeze my arse as he nonchalantly strolled past. I gasped, nearly having a heart attack and hurriedly went to take my seat (facing the Slytherin table of course) and saw him wink at me. As was now a fairly regular occurrence, I blushed.

Harry, who was sat next to me, had apparently noticed our, uhm...little exchange. Bollocks, I'd forgotten he was unusually observant for a teenage boy. "Did Malfoy just wink at you Hermione?"

"Wh...what? No, why would Dra...Malfoy wink at me?" My usual steady voice failing me. Oh great.

"Yeah, 'cos I totally believe you. If that were true, then why the hell are you blushing? And, you nearly called him Draco, which is just...wrong. He's an arse."

"I am not blushing; I'm just a bit hot." (Understatement of the year there) I glanced at my watch, in obvious avoidance of Harrys' second point, "Oh, look at the time, I've got to run guys, see you later, yeah?" I nearly tripped over the bench in my hurry to escape. Righting myself and blowing hair out of my face, I made my way as quickly as I could, without running (Couldn't face any more embarrassment today, thank you), out of the Great Hall,not daring to chance a glance back at Harry.

Collapsing against the closest wall I could find, I pushed the heels of my palms into my eyes, letting out a frustrated groan as I sank to the floor. What was happening to me? Yes, I know for a fact that I like Draco; a lot, and he definitely appears to like me too, but I've never been this easily embarrassed and what's even worse, is that Harry and Ron really won't like it...at all. In fact, I can probably say with ninety nine percent certainty that they'll detest the idea, and end up hexing Malfoy.

A shoe jabbed into my side. "Nice to see I affect you so much Granger." He was smirking again.

"Eughh! Just bugger off, please." Perhaps I said it a little too forcefully, because he suddenly stopped laughing.

"Come on Hermione, you know I didn't mean it." He crouched down next to me, trying to pry my hands from my face, "Please look at me...I'm sorry." I grudgingly looked up, and nearly wet myself with laughter. He was pouting and looked awfully like a fish, a rather handsome fish; I'd never quite seen anything like it.

"Okay, apology accepted." Wiping the laughter tears from my eyes I stood back up, leaning against the wall as Draco righted himself too. I could hear people beginning to exit the Great Hall, and now was not the time for Harry and Ron to see me here, laughing with Draco Malfoy. "We've got Ancient Runes, right?" Thank Merlin, no Harry or Ron to worry about.

"Yeah, we have." I grabbed his arm and jogged along the corridor, pulling him with me. We were a little early for our lesson, so for once, I decided to take the initiative, a little replay of last night was necessary. We were already in the corridor we required for our lesson, but it rather luckily had many small alcoves. I dove past the classroom. "Uhm...you've gone past the...Uumpf, ow!" Oops, I let his head hit the wall as I pushed him against it in one of aforementioned alcoves.

In a sudden bout of confidence, I made my voice as sultry as possible, "Poor baby, let me make it better for you." His eyes widened in surprise...followed by lust as I stood up on tip toes and pulled his face to mine, kissing him passionately whilst my hand caressed the sore spot on his head. His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me off the ground.

I pulled my head back, "Better now?" He slowly opened his eyes, focusing on me intently, keeping a firm grip the whole time.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. You might have to try again; it's still feeling a little sore." He was still holding me off the ground, so I wrapped my legs around his hips, supporting myself in a more comfortable (and incredibly hot) position. This kiss started slowly, but built rapidly into a mind numbing crescendo of battling tongues and nibbling which left us gasping for air. "Not that I'm complaining, but where the fuck did that come from?" He said breathlessly as one hand cupped my arse and the other rubbed patterns along my thigh.

After a few moments of intense staring, when it became obvious I wasn't going to answer, Draco lowered me back down to the ground; I kissed my fingers and placed them on his lips. Professor Babbling could be heard welcoming student's into the classroom. I smiled as I pushed him out of the alcove, and towards the classroom. I could hear him grumbling to himself beside me. Internally, I smirked.

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><p><strong>Mmm, more snogging, just what was needed I think ;-)<strong>

**Hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Been on holiday this week, but unfortunately, I've gotta go back to work next week (lame), so updates may not be as regular as they have been, sorry.**

**Gemsibob**


	6. Chapter 6

**Being back at work is really quite lame...I'd rather be home, writing this story.**

**But anyway, here is chapter six...only two more after this I reckon. But then I'll start something new :-)**

**Thanking you all for the reviews and alerts etc.  
><strong>

**AN - I own nothing...but the plot.**

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><p>Ancient Runes, along with the next two classes went quickly. So it was with a great sigh of relief when I realised that it was finally lunchtime...one more hour and I could spend some alone time with Draco. It was strange to be thinking like this, after the last few years of torment and harsh words, it was startling to think that I was craving alone time with <em>the<em> Draco Malfoy.

I was absently munching on a sandwich during lunchtime, thinking. Harry and Ron, as per usual were wrapped up in conversation about Quidditch (Boring.), so I let my eyes wander around the hall, there were a lot of people laughing, spending time with their friends, it was then that I noticed the tall, blond sex god (!) leaning against the dark wooden door frame. He nodded at me, indicating for me to follow him as he ducked back out into the Entrance Hall.

Excusing myself, earning the slightest eye movement in my direction from the two boys before they resumed their conversation, I left the Gryffindor table. Leaving the Hall, I expected to see Draco waiting, I knew he had to be there somewhere, but it still made me jump when he grabbed my hand, where had he been hiding? It was yet another beautiful April day, and he grabbed my hand before pulling me outside. He didn't release my hand as he made a bee line towards an old oak tree.

Laying his robe on the floor, he offered me a seat on the ground. I made myself comfortable, leaning back against the solid trunk of the tree as he sprawled himself out in front of me. Leaning on his elbow, he dug around in his trouser pocket, retrieving a small item and his wand. The object was brown, and appeared to have some sort of handle. "Engorgio." He muttered, and I watched as the small item in his palm grew into an old fashioned, wicker picnic basket.

"Cool, what goodies have you brought for us?" leaning forward on my knees, I bounced up and down in excitement, hopefully it would be cake, I could really eat some cake right now.

"For us? What makes you think I've brought anything for you, you've already had lunch Granger, if I remember correctly?"

"Pffft! So you've dragged me all the way out here so I can sit and watch you eat? I don't bloody think so." I made as if to stand up, his hand quickly closed around my wrist.

"Merlin Granger, I was only kidding. Sit your arse back down now, before I have to make you." He smirked up at me.

I sank back down to the ground. He opened the basket, pulling out all kinds of yummy treats, bakewell tarts, pumpkin pie, treacle tart and a flask of tea. "Help yourself." He said, pouring out two cups of tea.

"Is this an attempt to woo me Mr Malfoy?"

"Dunno, is it working?" He looked up at me from under his pale lashes.

I smiled, leaning in towards him. "Maybe!"

We lay there next to each other holding hands and feeling a little full after all that food; he was tracing patterns on my wrist with his thumb. It felt quite, well intimate, it was wonderful. "Uhm, Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"What exactly are we?"

"You mean our relationship?" he turned his head to watch me, I nodded my head, "Friends I guess...unless you were thinking of something a bit more...couple-y?" I could hear the hope lacing his voice.

"Hmm, from the fact you're holding my hand which I don't believe friends really do, and I'm not objecting..." he shuffled next to me, leaning up on his elbow so he could watch me, "...maybe I want more than friendship with you Draco." My face had to resemble a beetroot after that confession. I tried looking anywhere but in his direction.

He was chuckling quietly beside me as he casually leant over, moving a stray curl from in front of my eyes before resting his palm gently on my cheek. "You sure Hermione? I know it's what I want, but if you aren't sure, I'm not gonna force you." Before he could move his hand away, I grabbed it, holding it to my cheek.

"Well, let me think for a second...hmmm." I sat up sharply and tackled him into a bear hug, as we fell back to the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes then shall I?" The corners of my mouth lifted into a grin, as he leant in, kissing me on the forehead, then my nose before finally, he reached my mouth. It started out gently, as if we were taking the time to savour each other, things escalated quickly though as I wrapped my arms tightly around him, fisting my hands in his incredibly soft hair. I was effectively straddling his lap, but his hands reached up, gripping my waist tightly and pulled me around quickly. I looked up at Draco, stunned, how had he gotten me underneath him so damn easily, not that I was complaining.

With a couple of small pecks on the lips, he pulled himself up, supporting his weight on his arms as he gazed into my eyes. "I wish I'd realised how beautiful you were sooner." I tried looking away. "No, look at me Hermione, you are beautiful, in fact, you're bloody gorgeous." I smiled weakly at him, I was beyond embarrassed, no one had ever said anything this, well nice to me ever, "and now I'm the lucky bastard who gets to call you mine." His grin widened, he looked fucking hot with the sun casting a glow around him.

"Thank you Draco, you're pretty stunning yourself." My hand caressed his hair as I smiled back at him.

Rather abruptly he pulled me up into a sitting position; he reached behind him, fishing around in the picnic basket, retrieving the flask of tea, once again pouring a cup for each of us. "A toast then, I do believe is on order."

A toast? You can't toast with tea. That's not nearly as romantic as champagne." I pouted.

"You bloody can toast with tea. We're English and what is more quintessentially English than tea?"

"Oh fine, I agree, tea it is then. To us!" We each held up our cups and chimed the toast. I couldn't help but laugh watching Draco. He held his cup delicately in his fingers, even going so far as to stick out his little finger.

"Well, it's got to be done properly now doesn't it!" He smirked at me over the top of his teacup. As I leant in to capture his lips in another kiss, I heard the bell. "Eughh," he growled "fucking Herbology. Can't we just stay here instead; I'll show you something else that's growing." Laughing he leant over me, kissing the corner of my mouth.

It took me a few seconds to comprehend his little innuendo. "Ha, gross, naughty Malfoy. I'm afraid not though, we've got to go to lessons, I think it'd become pretty obvious something was up if we keep missing lessons at the same time."

He looked stunned, "What? Are you saying we can't tell anyone about us?"

I lowered my head in shame, he looked a little hurt. "Uhm, well I'm not sure how people will take it. Harry might be alright, but..." I trailed off, I knew exactly how Ron would react, he would think I'd been cursed or something and then probably try and break Draco's neck. "Ron could be a different story all together, not to mention your many fan girls...and what about your parents...I can't imagine that they'll take too kindly to this."

"I don't give a fuck what my parents think of us, I can handle it. You just don't want to stand up to your friends. If they don't want to see you happy, then fuck them Hermione, they obviously don't care for you as much as they say."

Keeping my head down I took one of his hands within mine, "Please Draco, we don't need to hide it forever, just...I need a little time. Work out how I'm going to tell them, you know?" I could feel his intense gaze on me. Tears were burning at the back of my eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

He shifted closer, pulling me against him, "Only because it's you Granger." He squeezed me against his chest tightly, kissing the top of my head. "Herbology awaits...how wonderful."

Leaning up on my tip toes, I kissed his cheek. "Thank you Draco." He smiled as he took my hand, and we hurried off towards the greenhouses. Thankfully Professor Sprout wasn't there yet, and the other students were sprawled out on the grass, enjoying a last few minutes of sunshine and fresh air, before an hour in a stifling, airless glass box. He dropped my hand while we were still a fair distance away, giving me one last squeeze before stalking off to join his friends. I looked wistfully after him for a second, before following his lead and joining Harry and Ron.

I was truly happy, I'd found someone who wanted to be with me, who was smart and witty, someone I could have an actual intelligent conversation with...not that I don't love talking to the boys, but talking with Draco was on a whole other level.

Throughout Herbology we kept throwing each other furtive glances when we thought no one was looking. Unfortunately I didn't notice Harry looking between the two of us quizzically. Once the bell rang, I walked back to the castle for Charms with Harry, Ron and Neville.

As we walked, Harry grabbed my arm, slowing us down until Ron and Neville were in front. "Hermione, is there something you want to tell me? You've been acting weird for a while now, we've hardly seen you."

"No, I'm fine Harry, honestly. Just been really stressed, you know me; I've got to revise everything thoroughly." I crossed my fingers, hoping this lie would suffice.

"That's bullshit Hermione; I think I've known you long enough to be able to tell when you're lying. What's really going on, I've seen the way that you and Malfoy keep looking at each other...do you like him? Are you...going out with him?" He sounded disgusted.

My mouth went dry, there were no words...I just looked at him dumbly for a while, before sighing and lowering my eyes. Shit, he'd figured it out fast.

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><p><strong>Whatcha think? The last of the truly 'light' chapters, it gets a little bit (but not too much) more intense in the last two...ooooh.<br>**

**Chapters 7 and 8 are written...but yet to be edited and typed, but hey, we have a bank holiday here at the weekend, and my boyfriend is working it...so, plenty of time to catch up, yay!**

**Thanks for reading.**

**Gemsibob**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well hello, managed to type this one up surrupticiously at work, tee hee!**

**Thanks for all the reviews my lovely readers.**

**AN - I still own nothing but the plot...I just wish I did.**

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><p>Dinner found me, not enjoying some well-earned food like I should have been, but wandering alone through deserted corridors. Harry was <em>not<em> happy with me, not in the slightest; he told me I was being foolish, an idiot for thinking this could work, but that he wouldn't tell Ron…yet. I didn't like the sound of that 'yet', it implied a deadline, I was well and truly screwed.

As I walked around, I found myself muttering under my breath, not particularly paying attention to my surroundings. That's how Draco found me, nearly an hour later when I literally walked into him. "Whoa there." He smiled down at me, his smile instantly fading when he caught sight of my expression…it was downright sulky. "From the looks of you, I'd say that something was up."

He actually had the audacity to smirk at me; which was really not helping my mood. "Oh, how very astute of you Malfoy!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, I'm sorry. So, what's got you all worked up? I'm tempted to guess it's something related to Pothead and the Weasel, not even I can get you this angry anymore."

"Harry knows!" I said, flopping my head against Draco's chest, allowing his scent to calm me down with each deep breath.

"I told you we shouldn't try keeping it a secret." He mumbled into my hair.

"I fucking heard that." I hit him on the chest…harder than I meant to, causing him to grab my upper arms as he held me away from his body. "Sorry." I sniffled, avoiding eye contact as I felt tears burning my eyes, threatening to fall at any second and a lump developing at the back of my throat. "He hates me now, I just know it." A solitary tear leaked out from under my lashes, snaking its way down my smooth cheek.

"Oh Hermione, come here." He pulled me tightly against his warm chest. "I'm sure it'll be alright, it's Harry 'freaking' Potter, saviour of the world, and it's almost a prerequisite that he's abnormally kind. He'll come around; no matter how much he hates me…he obviously…cares about you."

I couldn't help but smile at this, he always seemed to be right…damn him, and was that a hint of jealousy I detected there…interesting. "Thank you Draco." I said, leaning up on tip-toes to kiss him soundly, holding his lower lip between my teeth as I pulled back. This actually made him growl…it was so fucking sexy (those pesky butterflies had returned).

"Well, I am the kindest, most thoughtful, sexiest boyfriend in the world…it's my job to keep you happy." He said this, taking a step forward on each word, pushing me backwards so that I was now pushed up against the wall (hmm, this was familiar).

"Mmm. "Was the last semi coherent sound escaping my throat before his lips were on mine, his tongue forcing its way into my mouth. Time could have come to a halt for all I could care, I was in my own lust fuelled bubble, and with the most gorgeous guy…I needed more.

Grudgingly pulling away, I grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind me as I hurried us down the corridor, finally coming to a stop outside a disused classroom. "Ah, privacy at last, I like the way you brain works Granger." Draco whispered into my ear as he pushed me through the doorway.

We were like magnets, drawn back to each other the instant the door had shut behind us. He left a searing trail of kisses along my neck and jawline as my hands worked quickly, swiftly pulling his shirt out of the waistband of his trousers, allowing my hands to finally caress the smooth plain of his stomach. It was hard; well-toned, but not ridiculously ripped. His skin was soft, burning under my delicate hands.

Draco nibbled at my collarbone sending waves of pleasure rippling throughout my body as my nails dug into his hips, earning another husky growl from Draco's throat, spurring me on. Pulling him even closer (if that was possible), my hands slid around to his back, allowing me to drag my nails up and down his spine in sensuous patterns. "I'm seriously not gonna be able to control myself much longer if you keep doing that Hermione. You're so fucking sexy, it's intoxicating."

We both pulled back, breathing heavily, neither daring to look away from the other. We stayed like this for a while as we calmed down, communicating our desire for each other through our eyes, but we were interrupted as my stomach abruptly rumbled, ruining the mood somewhat.

Draco laughed as my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Another excursion to the kitchens seems to be in order; maybe we can give Dobby another show." Slinging his arm around my shoulders, we exited the classroom, laughing at out shared joke.

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><p>The next few weeks passed by in a haze of intense snogging sessions with Draco, copious amounts of homework and revision as well as many, many fervent glares from Harry.<p>

By Saturday the guilt had almost consumed me, not only for keeping Ron in the dark, but also for expecting Harry to aide me in my deception. That was why I decided I would tell Ron…today.

Unable to sleep any longer because of my intense worrying, I got up at my usual early time. So deciding to wait for him in the common room; I grabbed a book and made my way down the stairs. I could barely concentrate, re-reading the same line numerous times (not helpful) and so I let out a long sigh of relief when I finally saw Ron come ambling down the stairs an hour and a half later.

"Hey, Hermione." He said through a big yawn.

"Hi Ron." I greeted as he fell into the chair next to me. "Uhm…I err, need to talk to you actually." He raised an eyebrow at my obvious nervousness, but nodded for me to continue. "Right, well I know I've been acting…uhm, odd these last few weeks."

Ron laughed, "Yeah that just about covers you behaviour."

"Yes, so…" my hands were shaking so much I had to sit on them before I could continue, "…I've been, uhm, hanging out with Malfoy a lot." Ron's face was beginning to get red, his eyes widening. "We're kind of…together now, you know, as a…a couple."

Nothing, complete silence…except Ron's ragged breathing. I cowered into my armchair, awaiting the inevitable explosion.

He suddenly sprung up from the chair. "What the fuck? Are you _serious_? I can't believe you Hermione. This is worse than when you went out with Krum. He's like only one step down from friggin' You Know Who." Exclaimed Ron, his face getting redder by the second.

At Ron's outburst, anger reared up inside of me, surpassing my nervousness. "How dare you Ronald. Can't you see that he's different now, that he's changed? If he wasn't, do you honestly think I would even _consider_ being with him? He makes me happy; surely even you can appreciate that, what with your emotional range of a teaspoon and all. You need to grow the fuck up and apologise. Until then, well honestly, I don't think I can even bare to look at you."

Ron's face was so bright now it was practically fluorescent as I stared him down. Both of us were breathing noisily, our nostrils flaring. During our argument, Harry had appeared silently beside us. "Anything you want to add Harry?" I asked, still glaring at Ron.

"I don't think there's anything I can say. Maybe we should all, you know, calm down a bit before we try talking again." He looked at us warily.

"At least one of you can be mature. Bye Harry, I'll see you later." I ignored Ron as he stood seething next to Harry, and I stormed through the common room and out of the portrait hole.

We were really lucky that no-one else had been around (though we'd probably woken them), or if they were they had probably been hiding, used to our arguments by now.

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><p>Draco met me by the old oak tree as we had arranged yesterday, it took only a quick look at my face for him to be on his feet, hugging me tightly. "You told Weasley didn't you?"<p>

I nodded into his neck. "He didn't take it well." I mumbled.

Draco filtered his fingers through my hair, effectively calming me down. "He'll come around eventually; he is _supposed_ to be your friend after all."

"I dunno, I haven't actually seen him this mad before, I think he might just be jealous."

"Rightfully so, I'm loads better than that git. I can go and hex his balls off if you want?"

I looked up; he was smiling encouragingly at me. "As much as I'd like to see that, I doubt it'll help us much in the long run."

He stepped back, kissing my forehead. "As it's a Saturday, and pretty damn warm, how about a stroll by the lake?" I pouted, not fully out of my mood yet, allowing myself to be pulled along behind my (wonderful) boyfriend.

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><p><strong>Ta da...the penultimate chapter which is cool...but also terribly sad :-(<strong>

**I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Gemsibob**


	8. Chapter 8

***sniff* this is the last chapter guys.**

**I would once again like to thank you all for reading, especially to all my reviewers, hope you enjoyed it.  
><strong>

**AN - As much as I wish I did, I really don't own anything but this little plotline, damn!**

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><p>As we walked towards the lake, I rambled on, voicing my thoughts aloud about my friends, Draco just nodded along, knowing better than to interrupt. "He's even more oblivious than I thought, isn't he? I mean, think about it, we haven't exactly been that subtle around school (that'd be near impossible), you're always holding my hand (sigh), and I've been in a considerably better mood these last few weeks…"<p>

Draco stopped abruptly, and I nearly crashed into the back of him. "Hmm, maybe the lake's not the best place…what about…all the way over there?" He pointed towards the Quidditch pitch as he turned around to face me.

"Why, what's wrong with the lake?"

Tucking two fingers under my chin, he pulled my face up as he gestured towards the lake over his shoulder. "That's why." I looked curiously over his shoulder, my face changing instantly into a scowl, my anger threatening to resurface. There, sat on the small pebbly beach where Draco and I had first spent time alone, sat Ron and Harry.

Harry looked over, seeming almost apologetic; Ron however remained resolute, facing forward, although even from this distance (maybe thirty feet) I could see the skin of his neck and ears turning red.

Forcing a smile at Harry, I retook Draco's hand as I skirted around the lake, to a much prettier area off to the side…with the added benefit of hiding both Ron and Harry from view.

Draco plonked himself down on the grass, leaning against a tree trunk, watching me as I continued to pace back and forth in front of him. Surely they would accept Draco in my life…for me, I was their friend and I was happy, isn't that how they would want me to be? That's when a thought struck me, a smile spreading over my face. "You know what this means Draco?"

"Uhm…that your friends are twats?"

"No!" I gave him a pointed look. "This means that we can now go 'properly' public…snogging and all." Next thing I know, I'm in Draco's lap, unable to talk as his lips attack my own, effectively wiping all logical thoughts from my mind.

His lips move away from mine, dragging a whimper from my mouth at the sudden loss. He laughed, smirking at my reaction. "I'm never gonna get used to that am I?" I questioned as I opened my eyes to look at him.

"Still make you weak at the knees do I Granger?" Amongst other places, I thought to myself.

Kissing me on the nose, he shuffled me off his lap and rose to his feet. "Up." He held out a pale hand.

"I'm not a fucking broom Malfoy!"

"Seriously…you took offence to that?" He sighed. "Fine, please could you stand up for me Hermione? There, better?"

"Yes, thanks." I grabbed his hand, hauling myself to my feet. Leaning in, I pretended I was going to kiss him…he leaned in towards me, "Ah, ah, ahh…you've got to catch me first." Turning, I ran as fast as I could back towards the castle, which really isn't an easy feat, when you're wearing damn flip flops.

Draco gave me a couple of seconds as a head start, before setting off at a sprint after me. "Get you're gorgeous arse back here right now Granger. You know you can't outrun me."

I giggled, stopping briefly to taunt him with a wiggle of my backside, before resuming my run up the hill.

Too soon, a long slender arm snaked its way around my waist, I squealed with delight as I was tackled to the ground, him looking down at me with humour twinkling in his eyes. I rolled us over so he was now the one on his back, with me leaning over him. Our eyes locked together, his burning with an intense longing and need that I'd never seen before, so I kissed him, hard, with every ounce of my being until I ran out of breath.

Gasping for air, we both lay on the grass in silence, his arm holding me tight against his body as I rested my head on his chest. Enjoying being with each other. We were completely oblivious to the many shocked stares of our fellow students.

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><p>Sunday found Draco and me wandering aimlessly around Hogsmeade. It was stiflingly hot, forcing people to walk around under cooling charms (thank Merlin for magic eh?).<p>

I paused as we walked past Madam Puddifoots, looking in the window. Draco squeezed my hand gently, clearly wanting me to look at him, his eyebrow was raised quizzically. "Granger, please tell me that you don't seriously want to go in there?" Pouting, I pulled the best puppy dog expression I could muster, pleading with him.

Rolling his eyes and sighing deeply, he started in the direction of the door. I stopped suddenly, nearly yanking his arm out of its socket. "Bloody hell, what the fuck was that for, are you trying to dislocate my arm?"

I burst out laughing, his expression flitting between pained, annoyed and curious. "It's okay Draco, we really don't need to go in there, it's not really my scene, you know."

A grin spread over his face as we watched me, obviously deciding whether or not I was being honest. "Thank fuck for that. It would have been a terrible blow to my masculinity if anyone had seen me being dragged into that soppy place." Pulling me into a tight hug, he lifted me clean off the ground as he spun us around in a circle. (that was manly!)

Once I was back on two feet we resumed our walk, me resting my head on his shoulder as his thumb rubbed circles against my hand. There really was nowhere of interest left to go, so as my stomach rumbled rather loudly, we decided to head back to school for some lunch. "So…food and then library?" I asked hopefully.

Draco laughed, kissing the top of my head. "You'll never change will you? Food sounds good, but Blaise asked me to go flying with him later if that's okay?"

"Oh, alright then." My mood instantly deflated. That's when he decided to bring out that damn pouty-fish-face look, a small smile lifting my lips. "Its fine, I'll see you afterwards yeah?"

He flung an arm around my shoulders as we entered the Great Hall, "Of course you will."

An hour into my studying, I couldn't take it anymore, the call of fresh air and sunshine was too much, so packing away my books and parchment, I decided to go and watch Draco flying (so hot!). I normally would have spent this free time with Harry and Ron, but they weren't really talking to me.

Deep in thoughts about my two best friends by the time I made it down to the Entrance Hall, I was completely unprepared for an impact as a blur of ginger came barrelling into me, knocking me off my feet.

"Oomph!" We landed in a tangle of limbs rather ungracefully on the ground. "What the bloody hell was…" The other person came into focus, it was Ronald. "Oh, what did you want?"

"Hermione." He looked completely panicked. I pulled myself to my feet, hands on my hips. He sheepishly stood in front of me. "Look, I'm sorry alright, not just for knocking you over, for everything else too, but now's not really the, uh, time, I'll apologise properly later, I swear, but right now…right now you need to get to the Hospital wing." My heartbeat sped up instantly, panic coursing through my veins. "It's Malfoy, he's…."

I didn't hear the end of that sentence; I turned around, running as fast as I could towards the Hospital wing, Ron following behind. I barged through the double doors, not even slowing down; heads shot around to face me as my eyes focused solely on Draco.

He was lying on a bed, unconscious and covered in blood. Harry and Blaise Zabini stood on one side of him while Madam Pomfrey tended to a wound on his head from the other side.

Silent tears trickled relentlessly down my face. "Wh…what happened to him?"

Harry approached me, a little cautiously to wrap me up in a hug, squeezing me gently. "He's gonna be alright Hermione, just a concussion. I looked up pleading with him to tell me what had happened. "Malfoy and Blaise, well, they asked us to play a friendly game of Quidditch with them, he knew it would be important to you…"

I was completely shocked, see, this was why I lov… Shit. I was gonna say 'loved' wasn't I? A whirlwind of thoughts was rampaging around my brain, effectively blocking out whatever Harry was saying. I shook my head, I could think about this later.

"…hit a Bludger just as Malfoy was flying past, it sort of hit him in the head, and then he fell off his broom, it really wasn't very nice. Thankfully Blaise managed to cast a cushioning charm before he hit the ground."

I looked up at Blaise; he turned in my direction, offering a weak smile as I wordlessly thanked him.

Madam Pomfrey had healed Draco's wound and cleaned away the blood, but he was still unconscious. "He's a good guy Hermione, we're, Ron and I, we're sorry we didn't trust your judgement sooner."

Ron stood behind Harry, nodding fervently in agreement. "Yeah, we won't doubt you again, promise."

"It's okay guys, as long as you do remember that I'm always right." I smiled very weakly at them both as I moved over to Draco's side.

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><p>I'd been here nearly two hours now, and Draco still hadn't come round. Panic was beginning to creep back in as I continually stroked his soft hair. Once the others had left, Madam Pomfrey has assured me that it was perfectly normal for him to still be out of it, and that he really would be okay. But why wasn't he waking up?<p>

I took his hand, trying to get him to wake up. The horrible plastic chair that you will find at every hospital bedside was distinctly uncomfortable. Standing up to stretch my legs I glanced out of the window, the sun had gotten much lower in the sky, what time was it? Something squeezed my hand, my head instantly shot back around to look down at Draco.

"Hey." He said quietly.

Hey." I replied, a smile spreading over my face at the same rate as my face flushed with relief..

"I'm okay Hermione, just a little bump to the head, nothing I can't handle." I burst into tears again, I was just so relieved. Then I remembered my earlier thoughts…if I wasn't in love with him, would I really have been quite so scared, or relieved? "Hermione, what's wrong?" I broke away from my thoughts as his hand came up to rest against my cheek, he looked at me worriedly as he wiped away my tears. I closed my eyes; revelling in these new feelings as I bent down to kiss him on the lips.

Pulling back, I looked him sternly in the eyes, focusing solely on them. "Oi Malfoy…that's mine." I pointed a shaking finger at his chest, "so you better be more careful with it."

He sat up grabbing my wrist; he pulled my hand so it was resting on his chest, over his heart. I could feel its steady beating under my hand. "Why yes Granger, I believe it is…as much as yours is mine." Before I could even react to what he'd just said, I was next to him on the bed, my lips being thoroughly ravaged.

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><p><strong>That's it, all done. Best get working on something else I reckon.<strong>

**Hope this last chapter didn't disappoint.**

**Gemsibob**


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